Latin dance hit 'Despacito' now most-streamed global track

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Catchy summer dance song “Despacito” has set a record as the most streamed music track of all time, with some 4.6 billion plays across leading platforms, record company Universal Music said on Wednesday.

The song, first released in January in Spanish by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and rapper Daddy Yankee and then in a remixed version featuring Justin Bieber, has topped charts in 35 countries around the world and dominated radio play.

Its 4.6 billion streams surpasses the record set by Bieber with his 2015 single “Sorry” and its remixes, and makes it the most successful Spanish-language pop song of all time.

“Streaming has opened up the possibility of a song with a different beat, from a different culture and in a different language to become a juggernaut of success around the world,”

Universal Music Group chief executive Lucian Grainge said in a statement.

“Despacito” (“Slowly”) has spent 10 consecutive weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, 17 weeks at No.1 in Spain and 9 weeks in the top spot in Britain, Universal Music said.

Fonsi, previously little known outside Puerto Rico, said it was “truly an honor that ‘Despacito’ is now the most streamed song in history.”